Postage scale device



Sept. 1950 T. G. THURSTONE ETAL 2,523,342

POSTAGE SCALE DEVICE Filed Sept. 6, 1946 INVENTORS. 'V

Patented Sept. 26, 1950 OFFICE POSTAGE SCALE DEVICE Thelma Gwinn Thurstone and Louis L. Thurstone, Chicago, Ill.

Application September 6, 1946, Serial No. 695,260

6 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a postage scale device and more particularly to such device capable of use at times and places when and where a regulation commercial postal scale is not available. Unless one indulges in a great deal of private correspondence, one is not likely to have a postal scale readily available. This is especially true of those who carry a box of stationery on trips, and it is probably true for most people who use box stationery anywhere. In private correspondence it is seldom necessary to have a refined postal scale. It is necessary only to estimate the postage and to afiix an extra stamp in case of doubt so as to avoid having the letter returned to the sender. On the other hand, the estimate should be close enough for practical purposes so as to avoid unnecessary waste of postage. In the present invention we have provided a successful postage scale device requiring only a box having a body portion and lid, of the type in which stationery is sold or used, the lid being so prepared and arranged that a letter with its contents may be stood up on edge at one end of the lid and the lid balanced across the edge at one end of the box, and with such condition of balance of the lid the required postage may be instantly read from a scale formed upon or attached to one of the upstanding side edges of the lid, which during this operation is upside down.

Among the objects of our invention are: to provide a novel and improved postage scale device; to provide a postage scale device capable of use when a regular commercial postal scale is not available; to provide a postage scale device capable of application to a stationery box lid for use with a box of stationery; to provide a postage scale device that may be incorporated as part of a stationery box either by the box manufacturer or by the user, and be available on trips, at home, or any other place desired; to provide a novel letter receiving and holding means on the free end of a stationery box lid, with proper graduated scale means formed on the lid side so that the lid with its letter may be balanced on the edge of the end wall of the box and the required amount of postage read from the scale; and such further objects, advantages and capabilities inherently posses by our invention, as will later more fully appear.

Our invention further resides in the combination construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings; and while we have shown therein, for illustrative purposes, preferred embodiments we wish it understood portion and vice versa.

2 that the same are susceptible of modification and change without departing from the spirit of our invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a stationery box, with the lid inverted, embodyin our invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary View of one end of a stationery box embodying our invention, and showing a portion of the lid in longitudinal vertical section.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a flexible strip to be attached to the letter end of the lid, and shownseparated from the adjacent end of the lid just prior to application thereto.

Fig. l is a fragmentary view of the letterreceiving end of the lid showing a modified form.

In the form of our invention shown for illustrative purposes in the drawing, our postage scale device is embodied in a stationery box comprising a body portion l and a lid 2. As will be understood, such boxes are generally purchased at the store and contain writing paper, envelopes, or other stationery articles therein. In carrying out our invention the lid of the stationery box maybe prepared by the manufacturer of such boxes, or if desired may be prepared by the user I, at home or atother places desired, to incorporate ourinvention therein. In thejuse of our improved postage scale device, the letter 3 with its j contents to be mailed, will be placed in a vertical position in letter holding means in one of the end edges of the lid with the lid positioned upon the top edges of "the open body portion of the box with the longitudinalsidefedges of the lid parallel with the longitudinal side edges of the body portion oi'the box. The lid will then be pushed longitudinally of the body portion of the box until the lid begins to tip on the adjacent end edge of the box body portion. The required amount of postage for either first class or air mail postage will then be read off from the scale having graduated indicia affixed to or formed on the upstandin side edge of the lid. This will be the necessary postage for the letter, it being assumed that, by the trial method, the indicia and numerals on the side edge of the lid will be placed thereon for the different position of the lid with relation to the box body portion. In other words, the lighter the Weight of the letter, the greater the extent of projection of the end of the box over the adjacent end of the box body It is believed the formation of the graduations of the scale for the purpose will be readily understood from the above.

The scale, with its appropriate graduations and indicia, is indicated at 4 in Figs. 1 and 2. Any suitable means may be provided for holding the letter and its contents in vertical position at the end of the lid, one form of such means being shown in Fig. 4, it comprising a slot 5 formed in the flat cover portion of the lid through which slot a corner of the envelope may be inserted so that the outer face of the envelope will contact, or substantially contact, the inner face of the upstanding flange 6 of the end of the lid. It is necessary that the letter always be thus positioned as close as possible to the end flange B of the lid so as to always be in the same position from which the scale was originally calibrated.

Another form of letter holding means is shown in Figs. 1 to 3, to comprise a strip of paper, textile material, or other material, having at its ends ears 8 and 9 adapted to be bent along the lines In and H to be secured by adhesive or otherwise to the adjacent side faces of the side flanges of the lid as shown in Fig. 1. Strip 1 may also if desired be provided along its bottom edge with a downwardly extending flange adapted to be bent along the line [3 at right angles to the body portion of the strip so that flange I2 may be attached by adhesive material or otherwise to the adjacent portion of the bottom flat face of the inverted lid. Strip 1, at an intermediate portion of the bending line I3, is formed with a slot l4 so that when the strip is attached to the lid as described above a corner of the letter may be inserted downwardly between the strip 1 and the end of the lid, and through the slot, as will be understood in Fig. 1.

If desired, the strip 1 may have the bottom flange l2 omitted and be merely secured by end ears 8 and 9 to the adjacent side portions of the lid with the strip held sufficiently close to the ends of the lid that a letter and its contents may be inserted at one corner, or otherwise as desired, between the strip and end of the lid. In the example shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the letter 3 and its contents are of such weight that when the lid is pushed outwardly across the end of the body portion of the box so that the lid begins to tip over the end edge of said body portion the postage required for that particular envelope and contents would be 6 first class or 16 air mail. As will be understood, the weight of the letter and its contents will vary for different letters, and the amount of the postage required may be instantly read for any weight of letter and contents by using the upper edge of the end of the body portion of the box as a pointer.

It is thus seen that we have provided a quick and easily available postage scale device for use in the home, place of travel or otherwise, which can be incorporated in and form part of the same box in which the stationery is carried, and be available for instant use even though a regular commercial scale were not available.

We claim:

1. A postal scale comprising a fulcrum device, a beam in the form of a shallow rectangular pa per box top, said beam being manually shiftable transversely of said fulcrum, means at one end of said beam, cooperating with an end flange thereof, for holding vertically edgewise an envelope to be weighed, there being a scale along the side flange of the beam including indicia selected so that when the beam starts to tip on said fulcrum, the indicia on said scale adjacent said fulcrum will indicate the required postage.

2. A postal scale as claimed in claim 1, in which said envelope holding means is formed with a slot closely adjacent said end flange.

3. A postal scale as claimed in claim 1, in which said envelope holding means includes a flexible strip secured across a vertical face of said end flange to form a space for holding said envelope.

4. A postal scale as claimed in claim 3, in which said strip is formed at its ends with bent ears secured to the side flanges of the beam.

5. A postal scale as claimed in claim 4, in which said strip is provided along its bottom longitudinal edge with a bent portion secured to the bottom face of said beam.

6. A postal scale comprising a fulcrum device, a beam in the form of a paper box top having vertical side and end flanges, said beam being shiftable transversely of said fulcrum, means at one end of said beam for holding an envelope to be weighed vertically in contact with an end flange thereof, a scale along a side flange of the beam including indicia selected so that when the beam starts to tip on said fulcrum, the indicia on said scale adjacent said fulcrum will indicate the required postage.

THEE/ A GWINN THURSTONE. LOUIS L. THURSTONE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,126,398 Cleophas Jan. 26, 1915 2,011,649 Philips Aug. 20, 1935 

